Mounting device for fixed machine guns



May 22, 19 5- .1. c. TROTTER MOUNTING DEVICE FOR FIXED MACHINE GUNS 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 3, 1940 y 1945 J. c. TROTTER MOUNTING DEVICEFOR FIXED MACHINE GUNS Filed Oct. 3, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 rneg- 3Sheets-Sheet '3 Q Janene-yr. .vfiJh/n/ 0. Wow

flio

J. C. TROTTER MOUNTING DEVICE FOR FIXED MACHINE GUNS Flled Oct 3, 1940May 22, 1945.

Patented May 22, 1945 "MOUNTINGEDEVICE FOSR FIXED .MACHINE John .C.Trotter, Williamsville, N. .Y.,' .assignonto Bell Aircraft Corporation,.Buflalo, N. ':Y.,. a corporation of "New York Application- October 3,1940, "Serial N0." 359,598

1 21 Claims.

" The present invention relates to machine guns, and 'more' particularlyto" a mounting" device for afixed-machine gun tobe usedin-corifined-quar- --ters,'- su'ch as;---aircraft; tanks, or thelike.

'-A-' fixed-'machine' gun is usually'mounteddirectly on the airplanestructure and is not provided withsa recoil dampeningunit. 1Consequently; during firing, the -'loads applied to the airplanestructure are high and thesstructure deflects considerably in variousdirections. As a result, :-.the. machine: gun does not remainron' thetarget which means of course that vtheshots are spreadover a relativelylarge. area. .On' theother hand, =my fixed mount issprovided with arecoil dampening unit'that causes the -gun to recoil along a-pathparallel toathe barrel. Since the recoil forces are reduced, theairplane structure does not i deflect any appreciable amount and thespread of "shots is greatly reduced.

An object of the present invention is to pro- 1 vide a mountfor'fixedmachine guns that carries a recoil absorbing unit: that reduces theloads 1 applied to the airplane structure and increases the rateof fireof the gun.

Other objects of myinvention: are:

I (1) "To-provide a novelcartridgeieeding device that is so mountedon'the macln'ne gun'support as to allow thegun to recoil and yet -fee'dthe cartridges into the block properly;

(2) To-provide a' mount '1.=for"fixed machine uns that is simple inconstruction and operation and "that can be" cheaply manufactured; and

a (3) "To provide a fixed machine gun mount that is 'provided 'with:means for -en'abling"the mount --to be usedwith. a synchronized'gun.

"To achieve the above and other objects, the inventiombriefiy'comprisesa' light "-weight cradle that is attached toany suitableportion ofthe airplane structure by forward and rearward trunnion posts.v A recoilabsorbingunit is carried by the cradlesand the: gunto-compensate forthe r recoil. *As a resultgduringfiring of' the gun"the airplane structure; does-'not deflect any-apprecia- "ble amount andthe shots-are spread'over a rel-ativ'elysmall area. "Ihisnot' o'nlyincreases the rate of fire of I thegun, but itwill also materiallyredu'ce the loads that are applied to" the airplane structure.

" In additionea novel feed chute for the cartridges is carried by thecradle at a point adjacent to the'feed'block' of the gun and the chuteis so shaped as to permit the gun to recoil.

In the event the gun is to be used as a synchronized one, means areprovided to permit a trigger motor to be mounted on a bracket attached'to the cradle in a position'close"to'- the trigger mechanism of the gun.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of my novel mount fora fixedmachine gun.

Figure 1.

' Figure 5 Ba sectional View taken along the line 5''5of Figure 1.

Figures 6 to =8 inclusive are longitudinal sectional views showing' thepositions --of the-carbers 5 and as each of these members is identicalto but one.

in construction,the-description will be limited The forward end of eachtube-5 is closed by a plug 6 having integrally formed'there- "withan'extension 1. As best shown inliigures 1 and 3, 'the 'front trunnion 3carries at its 'upper enda bracket 8 provided'with earsQ. Each; ear *9isiormed'wi'th' aniaperture' l0 into which is *disposed" a bushing I l.

' tioned b'etween'each extension 'l-so that thebushings are adjacent tothe extensions. "A" bolt 12 extends through apertures in the extension 1"and through the bushings" I I. It will be noted thatthe bolt is formedwith a shoulder l 3' ateach and thebracket 8 is-a strap 15, and oneendof a recoil unit It isattached theretoy-asindicated at 17. The recoilunit -I6is identical in construction and operation to the unit coveredin'my copending application; Serial'No. 33.6,286;'filed May '20, 1940;now Patent-2,339,898 issued" November ward end of the unit 16. isattached to-abracket 18 that bridges the tubes E'and'is secured" theretoin any suitable manner. "The forward, end-ofzthe "gun'casingis securedto the-recoil unit, as indi- The bracket 8 is'posiis adapted to slide inthe slot 2|. The inner end of the bolt 22 is reduced, as shown at 24,and is attached to the gun casing. By virtue of the above mode ofattachment of the gun l to the cradle 2, it will be appreciated thatupon firing, the recoil will be taken care of by the unit It and the gunis free to move rearwardly by virtue of the slot 2| and the slidingblock 23. As a consequence, the recoil forces are reduced by the shockdampener and the structure to which the mount is attached does notdeflect any appreciable amount, thus enabling the gun to be kept on thetarget.

In Figure 5, it will also be noted that each casting is connected by aweb 25 that is formed with downwardlyextending lugsZG. The upper end ofthe rear trunnion 4 is formed with a reduced head 2'! having a bore 28.A bolt 29 extends through a hole 30 in each lug 2B and through the bore28, and a bushing 3| is positioned around the bolt 29 to reducethe'wear. A nut 32 is threaded onto the bolt for enabling the rearportion of the cradle 2 to be securely attached to the rear trunnion 4.s

As hereinabove pointed out, this invention is provided with meanswhereby the support may be used with a synchronized gun. In Figure 1, itwill be seen that the casting 29 is also formed with ears 35 to which isadapted to be attached a bracket 36, as indicated at 31. A trigger motor38 shown in the dot dash lines in Figure 2 is affixed to the bracket 36.The firing trigger of the gun can be actuated through a lever and rollermechanism such as shown in my co-pending application, Serial No.328,989, filed April 10, 1940, now Patent 2,352,870 issued July 4, 1944.

On opposite sides of the feed'block 39 and suitably aifixed to the tubemembers 5 are lugs or the like 40. An ammunition box 4! is attached tothe lugs as shown at 42. A cartridge feeding chute indicated generally43 is positioned adjacent to the feed block of the gun as indicated inFigures 1 and 4. With reference particularly to Figure 4, it will benoted that the bracket I8 is provided with an upstanding portion 44 towhich is afiixed a bracket 45 by means of bolts 46. The chute 43comprises a base 41 which can be secured to the upper face of thebracket 45 in any suitable manner. Integrally formed with the base '41are side walls 41'. The base is open at the front and rear ends and therearward end or that end into which the cartridge links are fed from theammunition box is flared downwardly as indicated at 48. To assist thefeeding of the cartridge links into the feed block 39, it will be notedthat leaf springs 49 are associated with the side walls and the innerend of each spring projects the short distance into the feed block asindicated at 50. Consequently the members 49 act as a resilient guidefor the cartridge links and will insure proper feeding at all times.

The side Walls are further provided with ears 5! which form a partialcover for the chute 43 under which the cartridge links move and theseears will tend to straighten out the cartridge belt and prevent the beltfrom buckling or otherwise impairing the proper feeding of theammunition to the machine gun.

In view of the fact that the feed chute 43 is attached to the cradle 2instead of to the gun itself, no additional load is imposed upon thegun. Furthermore, the chute ,is so formed that the cartridge links willalways be fed properly into the feed block of the gun, and it willpermit the gun to recoil. The chute can be attached to either side ofthe cradle, as the strap I8 carries a bracket I 44 at each end.

The rear trunnion is provided with an adjustment device Gil so that theelevational position of the cradle 2 can be varied to permit the gun tofire in the desired position.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have provided anovel device for feeding cartridges into the feed block of a machine gunwhich can be attached to the cradle at a point adjacent to the feedblock. In addition, the mount is provided with means to enable a triggermotor to be mounted on the cradle for actuating the trigger mechanism ofthe gun. The mount and its related parts are simple in construction andoperation and can be cheaply and easily manufactured.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself tothe precise details of construction herein set forth, by way ofillustration, as it is apparent that many changes and variations may bemade therein, by those skilled in the art, without departing from thespirit of the invention, or exceeding the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A machine gun mount comprising a gun provided with a feed block, acradle for the gun having side portions, means for slidably securing andsupporting the gun in the cradle, cartridge belt feeding means mountedadjacent the feeding block of the gun and supported wholly by one of theside portions of the cradle, said feeding mean including a base, aportion of which is flared downwardly, side walls for said base to forma chute, and an ammunition box mounted adjacent the chute and secured tothe said side portion which supports the belt feeding means, the saiddownwardly flaring portion of the base of the feeding means extending toa point above the ammunition box and serving as a bridge between theammunition box and the said chute, and spring leaf extensions attachedto the side walls forming the chute and extending into the feed block ofthe gun.

2. A machine gun mount comprising a gun provided with a feed block, acradle for the gun having side portions, ,means for slidably securingand supporting the gun in the cradle, cartridge belt feeding meansmounted adjacent the feeding block of the gun and supported wholly byone of the side portions of the cradle, said feeding means including abase, a portion of which is flared downwardly, side walls for said baseto form a chute, an ammunition box mounted adjacent the chute andsecured to the said side portion which supports the belt feeding means,the said downwardly flaring portion of the base of the feeding meansextending to a point above the ammunition box and serving as a bridgebetween the ammunition box and the said chute, spring leaf extensionsattached to the side walls forming the chute and extending into the feedblock of the gun, and upstanding members carried by the side Walls andforming a partial cover for the chute.

JOHN C. TROTTER.

